


The Happening

by bluebellsandcocklesshells



Series: 642 Prompts [7]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Broken Bones, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-06-06 10:54:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6751165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluebellsandcocklesshells/pseuds/bluebellsandcocklesshells
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Prompt 7 of 642: Write about a time you broke a bone.</p>
    </blockquote>





	The Happening

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt 7 of 642: Write about a time you broke a bone.

_This isn’t happening._

That was all Castiel’s fuzzy brain could focus on.  He was dizzy from pain and the ceiling was swirling above him, but his consciousness clung to the fact that _this could not be happening._

This being it was his first day at a new job and rather than wait for the slow-moving, overcrowded elevator he decided to run up seven flights of stairs so that he wouldn’t be even a second late and just as he rounded the landing on the seventh floor his toe caught the top step which caused him to stumble forward, his back foot to slip off the stair, and for him to go tumbling down a flight and a half of stairs and crash into a wall with his foot hitting the hard concrete with such force and at such an awful angle that there was no way the pain and sickening “crack” he’d heard didn’t mean he hadn’t broken his ankle.

And great.  He was thinking in run on sentences now.  And fragments.

Castiel let his head loll on the concrete floor.  It was too much effort to hold it steady and the cool surface made his flushed face feel a little better.  He waited for the world to stop tilting, and then took in several deep breaths.  His head cleared a bit.  He moved his left leg first and while he could feel a bruise forming on his thigh, it was okay.  He attempted to move the right, and while his thigh moved okay, as soon as his ankle moved a fraction of an inch severely sharp pain shot along his whole body.  He bit down on his lip to keep from screaming and immediately stopped moving.

He went completely lax on the floor again and waited for the pain to subside to a manageable level.  What was he going to do?  He couldn’t move himself.  No one knew he was here.  No one except personnel was expecting him and they had several other people coming for processing so would they even notice if someone didn’t show up?  He had a feeling not many—if any—people used the stairs in this building.  What if no one found him for hours?  What if no one found him for days?  What if no found him period?!

Castiel fought against the rising panic.  There was no need to get hysterical.  Someone was going to find—

The sound of the stairwell door opening cut into Castiel’s thoughts.  Well, crap.  He wasn’t ready to be found right _now_.

Voices and laughter echoed off the walls and carried down to him.  Double crap.  It was more than one person.  Well, maybe they were going up.  The sound of men’s loafers walking down the stairs torpedoed that hope.  Castiel tried to think of some way to appear dignified while sprawled at the bottom of a flight of stairs.  Nothing came to mind, so he just stared at the ceiling and waited.

“So, then this asshat looks at me and says, ‘The lady is with me, pal.’”

The voice was nice.  Slightly crass, but pleasantly deep and rough.

“I take it she didn’t stay with him,” the second man drawled.

Southern?  Creole?

“No she did not,” the first voice laughed.  “I didn’t even do anything.  All I said was—Holy shit!”

“Not your smoothest pick up line,” the other man said, sounding confused.

“What?  No, look.”

“Oh, shit!  Are you okay?”

So the exclamation had been about him.  Apparently the plan to will himself invisible hadn’t worked.  Their feet hurried down the remaining stairs and two faces appeared over him.  One was bearded and attractive and would have totally been his type back during his bear phase in college.  The other was strong, chiseled, covered in light scruff, and way too damn beautiful.  He was hallucinating.  That explained it.  This was some weirdo gay fantasy he was having at the bottom of the stairs.  No wonder there was a bear and a Greek god.  His imagination seriously had no imagination.

“Buddy?”  The beautiful man snapped his fingers.

Castiel’s eyes twitched as they followed the flicking fingers.

“M’Cas,” he thought he mumbled.

“What?” the bear asked, looking at the Greek.

“I don’t know.  Umcas?  Or…what?”

“Cas.  M’Cas.”

“Oh.”  The Greek smiled and Castiel nearly went blind.  “Cas is your name I take it.  Hi, Cas.”

“Hi, pretty.”

The bear snorted.  “Unbelievable.  Bars, airports, children’s fairs, stairwells—is there any place you can’t pick someone up?”

The Greek grinned at the bear and then shrugged.  Then he looked back at Cas with concerned eyes.

“Um, are you okay?  Did you fall?”

Castiel nodded.  “Yeah.  Um.  I think I broke my ankle.”  Ah, English still existed in his brain.

“Oh, damn, really?  Here.  Let us help you up and get you to a hospital.”

Castiel shook his head.  “Upstairs.”

“What?  Why?”

“I’m late.  It’s a new job.”

The Greek rolled his eyes.  “The boss will understand.  Trust me.  Benny, can you get under his shoulders?”

Benny the Bear bent down to get under Castiel’s left side.  The Greek slid an arm under his shoulders and put a hand under his thigh to hold the damaged leg steady.  They hefted him up and his vision swam.

“Whoa!  He’s going down.”

Castiel fell against something solid and clung to it in the hope that the pain in his ankle would stop and his brain would stop drowning in pain receptors.  He eventually became aware that he was pressed against a solid chest and that two strong arms were holding him up.

“Hey there,” a voice said softly.  Castiel tilted his head up and saw the Greek God smiling down at him.  “You still with us?”

Castiel nodded.

“Good.  I’m Dean.  This is Benny.”

“Hey,” Cas managed to get out.

“Okay.  I’m going to put your arm around my shoulders so you can hop.  Benny, will you go get the car from the garage and bring it around front?  We’ll come out through the lobby since it will be less distance to cover.”

“Okay.  You sure you got it, Dean?”

“Yeah, we’re good.  We’ll go find an elevator.”

“Okay.”

Benny gave Castiel a pat on the shoulder and then began to lope down the stairs.  Castiel watched him enviously.  Then he straightened and found himself looking into very green eyes.  Maybe his predicament wasn’t so bad after all.

“Alright, Cas, so we’re going to go down this half flight of stairs to the door for the sixth floor, and then right across the hall is the elevator.  Think you can make it that far?”

Now that the pain had receded again, Castiel just felt embarrassed.  Dean was talking to him like a child with a scraped knee.

“Yeah, I’m fine.  I’ll make it.”

“Okay.”

Dean took a step forward and Castiel hopped.  He held back a squeak of pain.  Dean went down the first step and when Castiel hopped onto it the pain was so jarring he gasped and dug his nails into Dean’s shoulder.  Dean’s shoulder that had nothing but a thin dress shirt between his skin and Castiel’s nails.  Dean stopped moving immediately.

“Alright, let’s take a break.  Um…I’m not so sure having you bounce like that is a good idea.”

“It’s okay.  It’s only six more steps.  I just need to—” Castiel’s ankle brushed Dean’s leg and the room went very bright.

“Whoa, whoa!” Dean’s deep voice sounded like it was coming from a tunnel.  Then there was some more disorienting pain.

When Castiel’s vision cleared again, he was being carried bridal style down the stairs.  He closed his eyes.   _This is not happening._

A thumping sound made him open his eyes.  Dean was kicking on the door to the sixth floor with his foot.  A moment later someone opened the door for him.

“Goodness!” a woman exclaimed.  “What happened?”

“He broke his ankle.  Benny and I are going to take him to the hospital.”

“Oh, the poor thing!”

Castiel closed his eyes in embarrassment.  The population of the floor was peeking their heads over the top of their cubicles like gophers to get a look at what was going on.

“Can you get Donna to come down and meet us in the lobby?  I’m going to need her to rearrange my schedule.”

“Yes, sir.”

The woman scampered off and Dean walked over to the elevator.

“Can you get the down button for me, Cas?”

Castiel peeked an eye open so that he could push the down call button.

“I’m so sorry I’m disrupting your day,” Castiel muttered.

“Not at all.  You’re saving me from some really boring meetings.”

“Um.  I can probably stand now.”

“It’s okay.  I got you.”

The elevator chimed, the doors opened, and Castiel blushed as Dean carried him onto the lift.  Without being asked, Castiel pushed the button for the lobby.  The doors closed and the car lurched unsettlingly before beginning its slow descent.

“This elevator is so old,” Dean commented.  “We really need to move into a better building.”

“It’s why I took the stairs,” Castiel said because he felt obligated to respond.  “It was slow and people were waiting on it and I didn’t want to be late.”

“I like someone with that kind of initiative.  I just hope you don’t plan to sue the pants off the company for workman’s comp.”

Castiel flushed again.  “N-no, of course not.  It was my fault.  I wouldn’t—”

Dean grinned at him and Castiel’s voice failed on a squeak.

“I shouldn’t even joke about that with you.  Opening myself up to even more litigation.”

“Why yourself?”

Dean adjusted his hold on Castiel, and he could have sworn he pulled him in a little tighter.

“Because it’s my company.”

Castiel blinked at him.  And let that sink in.

“Please don’t say that,” he whispered mostly to himself.

Dean laughed as the elevator finally reached the lobby and the doors opened.

“Oh, I’m afraid I can’t take it back, Cas.  You just met the new boss.”

Castiel closed his eyes and buried his face in Dean’s shoulder—because that was somehow better than looking at his face?

“This isn’t happening,” he mumbled.

Dean just chuckled and Castiel could hear whispering from the people in the lobby who were watching their boss carry some idiot across the room.  Someone held the door open for them and they stepped out into the bright morning sunshine.  And Castiel had taken the sunny day as such a good omen.

“Mr. Winchester!  Mr. Winchester!”

Dean turned on the sidewalk and Castiel turned his head enough to see a pretty blonde woman come huffing up to them.

“Seriously we need a new building,” the woman said in a strong Midwest accent.  “One elevator that’s slow as molasses and those stairs are a death trap with that slippery concrete and poor lighting!”

Dean glanced at Cas.  “You _are_ going to sue me, aren’t you?”

“Oh, I heard someone did fall.  Who’s this poor fella?”

“New employee.”

“Well doesn’t that just cook your goose!  First day on the job as he’s falling down the stairs.  We’ll be all over the news for sure.”

“Hopefully we’ll avoid that, Donna.  Can you cancel my morning appointments and push my afternoon meeting back as far as you can?  I’m going to go with him to the hospital.  And can you follow us and bring his processing paperwork?  I assume you need the insurance we were going to provide you, right?”

Castiel raised his head.  “Oh, crap.  Yeah.  I just got taken off my parents’ insurance because I got this new job.”

Dean smiled.  “Don’t worry.  If they won’t accept it because it hasn’t processed yet, I’ll pay for it.”

“I couldn’t ask you to—”

“Ah, here’s Benny.  Cas, what’s your full name so Donna can find your paperwork?”

“Castiel Novak.”

“Got that?”

“Yep!”

“Okay.  We’re taking him to Mercy.  We’ll meet you there.”

“Yes, sir.”  Donna patted Castiel’s arm.  “Don’t worry, sweetie, we’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”

“Th-thank you.”

Benny opened the backseat door of a black limousine with tinted windows.  Dean gave him a look.

“This is the car you brought?”

Benny shrugged.  “Sam must have the Town Car.”

Dean rolled his eyes, but then moved to carefully deposit Castiel into the backseat.  Then he slid in after him and shut the door.  Castiel winced as he moved himself a little to give Dean more room, but then gave up and didn’t care if they had to sit pressed side to side.  The limousine pulled smoothly away from the curb and Castiel relaxed slightly into the comfortable leather.  He glanced at Dean and saw that the man was a little uncomfortable.  Well, it was a limousine with plenty of room after all, so if Dean didn’t want to sit so close he wasn’t the one with the broken ankle so he could move himself.  Dean stayed put.

“I, uh,” Castiel began, hating awkward silences, “I haven’t been in a limo since senior prom.”

“I don’t usually ride in a limo,” Dean blurted out.  “I mean, that would be pretentious and ridiculous, right?  We just have it because…well.  It was on sale and Benny likes to do donuts in it.”

Castiel laughed.  “Can you do donuts in a limo?”

“It takes a little skill, but yes.”

“I’d like to see that.”

“Sure.  Maybe when all your body parts are attached properly.”

“Yeah, that works for me.”

Silence descended.  Castiel made a soft popping noise with his mouth.  Dean tapped out a rhythm on his thigh.

“Uh, so, at least I’ve got a story for the office Christmas party,” Castiel said.

Dean chuckled.  “That you do.  Or, um, what is that term?  When people meet for the first time and something weird happens?”

“A meet cute?” Castiel asked.

Dean looked over at him and then away.  “Uh…well.  Um.  Yes, I guess that’s what I meant, but that doesn’t really apply to this situation.  I mean.  Does it?”

Dean looked at him with a weird expression, his eyebrows gone haywire.  Castiel’s mouth went dry.

“Um.  Yes?”

Shit!  He meant no!  Didn’t he?

Castiel could feel a little tension leave Dean’s body.  “Yeah?  Something to tell the grandkids one day?”  He laughed, and then looked horrified.

“Fuck.  Sorry.  I don’t know what’s wrong with me.  Please don’t sue me for everything.  We can settle out of court, right?”

Castiel laughed, the pain in his ankle making him not care about the way humans should normally interact.

“Sure.  Let’s settle it out of court.  You can take me out and buy me dinner.”

Dean nodded.  “That sounds…fair.”  He narrowed his eyes.  “And like you’re setting me up for even more damage.”

Castiel smiled and dropped his head onto Dean’s shoulder.  “Nah.  Just dinner.  And remember, this is before the pain meds, so I will hold you to it.  But once I’m high on drugs at the hospital, I can’t be held accountable for anything I say.  Like how you smell so good and it felt amazing to be held in your arms and how I think you’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in my life.  None of that will count.”

Castiel felt Dean’s chuckle rumble in his chest.  “Okay.  It won’t count.”

Castiel thought Dean might have said something else, but he felt a little foggy again, like he was falling asleep.  He was vaguely aware of the limo stopping and the door opening.  And then he felt himself being picked up and held tightly.

“How’d it go?” he heard a voice ask.  “Is he threatening to sue?”

“No.  Actually…”

“Actually what?” the voice asked, dripping with accusation.

“I think we’re going on a date.”

“Oh, Lord.  We’re going to lose everything.”

“What’s happened here?” a third voice joined the conversation.

“We think he broke his ankle.”

“Okay, fill out these forms and have a seat over there.  Someone will come get you.”

Castiel realized he was in a hospital and that he was leaning heavily on his new boss’ writing arm as the man attempted to fill out his paperwork.  He was pretty certain he was answering Dean’s questions correctly—but they didn’t seem like they were all health related.  Like, what was his favorite type of food?  And did he think movies made lame first dates?  But hospitals nowadays wanted to know everything.

He had one more moment of lucid thought when he realized Dean was missing, but then he was given drugs for the pain so that they could set his ankle.  Everything really got hazy after that point.  When he woke up from a drug-induced nap, his ankle was throbbing, but it wasn’t anywhere near as painful as it had been.  He was in a narrow hospital gurney in a busy emergency room with a fresh cast on his foot and ankle.  Only a thin cloth separated him from the two people moaning in pain on either side of him.

“Hey.  You’re awake.”

Castiel turned his head and saw Dean rising from a plastic chair near his IV stand.

“You’re still here,” Castiel stated and realized he was still processing things a little slowly.

“It hasn’t been that long.  Only a couple of hours.  They said they would release you today to your emergency contact, but I’m not sure I got his name or number right.  I tried to call the number you told me but the message was about needing a password and a cake recipe and a stripper’s stage name from Cream Filling…?”

Castiel sighed.  “That’s my brother.  He’s my emergency contact.”

“Oh, should I call it back?”

“No.  It sounds like he’s in the middle of one his scavenger hunts.  He may not answer for days.  I can take a taxi home.”

“Well, Cas, Benny and I can take you home.”

“Don’t you have meetings?”

“They can wait.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.  I mean, how would it sound to the grandkids if the story ends with me abandoning you at the hospital?”

Dean let out a nervous chuckle.  Castiel closed his eyes and fought a smile.

“Oh, God.  That conversation actually happened, didn’t it?”

“Uh.  Y-yeah.  I mean, if you wish it hadn’t I—”

Castiel opened his eyes.  “I didn’t say that,” he was quick to point out.  “I just…I guess in the harsh light of rational thinking, I don’t really know anything about you.  Except you’re strong enough to lift and carry a grown man and you’re kind enough to look after a total stranger.  Hunh.  I guess that’s more than I knew about my last date.”

Dean shrugged his lips.  “I’m an Aquarius.  I like pie.”

“Whoa, whoa,” Castiel put up a hand.  “There needs to be some mystery in the beginning.”

Dean grinned.  “Fair enough.  For now how about we get you home and into bed?  Uh…”  Dean turned an interesting shade of red.  “I mean—”

“I know, I know,” Castiel waved a dismissive hand at his gaffe.  “Totally innocent mistake.”

Dean nodded, looking relieved.

“But hopefully it won’t be too long before we can take it in the non-innocent way.”

Dean’s eyebrows shot up.

“That’s the drugs talking,” Castiel said, his eyes feeling like they were open very wide.  “I’m totally not responsible for anything I say now, remember?”

“Oh, right.  What was it again?  I’m the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen in your life and I smell really good?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, mister.  Who are you again?  Nurse?  There’s a stranger trying to kidnap me.”

“Hush.  I’m going to go get a doctor so he can sign off on you leaving.”

“Okay.  Dean?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.  For everything.”

“My pleasure.”

“Your desire not to get sued,” Castiel said with a tired smile.

“I’m not listening to your drug-addled gibberish.”

Castiel leaned back against the gurney as Dean disappeared to find someone who wasn’t too busy to deal with them.  He ran his fingers through his hair as his day flashed before him.

Late for work, falling down the stairs, breaking an ankle, being found and carried by his new boss, hitting on new boss, and getting a date out of it.  Castiel laughed as he imagined the look on Gabriel’s face when he told him this story later.  It sounded totally made up.

Castiel’s eyes landed on Dean across the room as he talked to a man in green scrubs.  Dean glanced at him and gave him a smile and a wink.  Castiel smiled back.

“This is happening…” he murmured.


End file.
